Configurable Tracking Stages

In order to make the system as simple to use as
possible, we use configurable tracking stages.

After talking to you about how you operate, we
configure the tracking stages for you, giving each
one the name that you chose.

The mobile computer menu will now just show the
stages you use and nothing else:

It takes just a few minutes, but it looks as
though the software had been custom written just for
you.

The prompting sequence will be exactly as you
expect as that is configured in the Tracking Stage
configuration etc.

Where Can We Track Items?

DeliveryPoD allows you to track items through all
steps of a journey that mail, parcels and documents
might take:

Delivery to Person

Delivery to Unmanned Location

Mail Trolleys and Mail Bags

Vehicles

Couriers

Depots

Buildings

Locations within Buildings

Failed Deliveries

Tracking stages can be configured to allow the
mobile computer user to report that a stage could
not be completed, why it could not be completed and
the option to take a photograph for proof.

The classic use is to prove failed deliveries,
typically where there is nobody available to sign or
where an office is locked.

Failed Delivery Attempts and Damage can be
photographed using the mobile computers inbuilt
digital camera

The tracking report will show the failed tracking
stage, reason for failure and any picture taken.

Click Image to see Full Size Image

We always find this eliminates disputes between
people who claim they were there and mailroom staff
who know they were not there and can now prove it.

Damage Reporting

Damage reporting can also be configured for a
tracking stage. It works in just the same way, with
the option to record both a text description of the
damage and to take a photograph.

Obtaining Names and Signature Capture

Tracking stages allow you to specify that a Text
Name must be obtained and / or a Signature (the
customer signs on the mobile computers screen).

Flexible and Powerful Tracking

Each stage is given a Name and then tick boxes
are ticked, which governs what the mobile computer
will ask the user to do and how it updates the
website.

If we want to obtain a name and signature, we
just tick those boxes. Similarly if it moves an item
from a mail trolley (e.g. delivery to customer), we
tick the "Removes From Mail Trolley" box.

Click on image to see full size image

In the example above, we have configured a stage
called "Customer Collects", so if a customer turns
up at the mailroom to collect an item, a user can
select this stage, scan the items and ask the user
to sign on the mobile computer screen for them.

Why is this useful to me?

Some people think all mailrooms are the same, but
in reality they are often different. For example one
mailroom might use mail trolleys to deliver items,
whilst a university with a large campus may use vans
to deliver some items.

Things can often change as well:

In one case a customer was adamant they
wanted to just have a "Delivery" stage.

There was no problem configuring our
system this way

We did warn the customer that it was
very "binary" - the item was delivered or
not delivered. If not delivered, you had no
idea whether the item was in the mailroom,
on a mail trolley, on a van or had been
stolen / lost.

One day we got a call saying, yes you were
right to warn us - some mail items could not be
accounted for and a Plasma Display had gone
missing.

We reconfigured the system in minutes (at no
cost to the customer) to have these
stages:

Scan onto Mail Trolley
- the mail trolley barcode was scanned (or
selected via a menu) and then each item was
scanned on.

Deliver with Mail Trolley
- The mobile computer has a list of all
items on the trolley and all remaining
delivery points. As an item is scanned the
mobile computer warns them of all items for
that person / department on the trolley and
asks them to scan them off.

Scan onto Van - The
vehicle being used is selected, then the
items being loaded are scanned.

Deliver with Van -
Again the list of items and remaining
delivery points are on the mobile computer.
As an item is scanned off, the mobile
computer is configured to check for other
items for that person / department.

Return Undelivered Items
- The shelves in the mailroom were barcoded.
Items that could not be delivered, were
brought back to the mailroom. The location
barcode was scanned (or selected via a menu)
and the items were scanned into that
location.

What did this achieve?

When the item has not been delivered,
you can see where it should be, where it was
last seen, who scanned it and when.

Data can be analysed by dragging columns
in reports to quickly see if there are
common patterns.

In this particular case, it took less
than one day to find:

2 People in a department would see a
the mail trolley, see items addressed to
them and take them from the trolley, not
realising the consequences.

The clue was that all non accounted for
items, were addressed to just two people
and had no commercial value. On asking
the two people, they said they had been
doing it for ages but just did not
realise it had to be signed for.

Over time it was deduced that theft
was very rare, but only occurred when
items were on the mail trolleys. Now we
have a starting point for investigating
further:

The Deliver with Trolley tracking stage
was configured so that as they scanned
off the first item for a department, it
would alert them to other items for that
department on the trolley and invite
them to scan them off.

Staff were now asked to phone a manager
straight away if they could not find one
of the items being asked for.

After a few instances, the manager
realised that items only went missing
when staff had to leave a trolley
unattended in a public area of the
building, because the department they
were delivering to had steps and the
mail trolley could not be taken with
them.

Ramps were fitted to some departments
and for delivery to others, expensive
items were delivered by hand.

That was a long and detailed example, however the
point is very simple: "A tracking system
that caters for changes is a much better system than
one that does not".